Hi there, album makers! It is an honor and a pleasure to be Guest Designer this month for Mini Album Makers. My name is Nuneka, that’s how my close friends call me, I’m a photographer and I live in Spain. I’ve always loved to create things with my hands and express myself through my art, but it was when I started traveling and taking photos when I felt the need of making my own albums. Even though I had no clue about scrapbooking, I bought my first papers and begun creating. After many years, I’ve started my blog and YouTube channel a few months ago. There you can find scrapbooking and Mix Media projects and tutorials.
Blog: http://meraki-spirit.blogspot.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MerakiSpirit
In this special occasion I’ve created an original album for you all. It is dashing and pretty easy to make following the step by step tutorial or the video. I’ve named it Hippie Soul. It looks like a regular album, but when opening you find a gatefold. And when you open it again, you end up with a four parts structure.
To make the covers you’ll need 3 pieces of cardboard:
• 1 @ 1 1/4 x 8
• 2 @ 6 x 8
I like to use a piece of elastic adhesive bandage to stick them together, leaving a little space between the pieces. This way is much easier to fold the covers once they’re wrapped. I stick the spine piece to the bandage first, and then the other two pieces. But you can wrap the covers as you usually do.
To wrap the covers, you’ll need 2 pieces of cardstock:
• 1 @ 10 x 16 (for the outside)
• 1 @ 2 5/8 x 7 7/8 (for the inside)
I usually stick the wrapping cardstock with scor-tape in the outside, but for the small piece to cover the spine in the inside I use binding glue, or some other strong liquid glue because this makes it easier to fold the covers once this piece of cardstock is added.
• 2 @ 7 7/8 x 6 15/16
With the 7” side up, score at 6 and 6 1/2
This way you’ll get a tab and a small spine. Add scor-tape to the tabs and stick them to the edges of the covers, so you’ll get a four pieces structure. This pieces are slightly smaller than the covers so you can close the album properly; just make sure you stick them centered. The pieces must fold inwards.
This is the first page you’ll see on the left side of the album when opening, it is the exterior side of the left structure. To make the little doors of this page you’ll need 4 pieces of cardstock:
• 4 @ 3 5/16 x 3 15/16
With the 3 5/16” side up, score each piece at 3/8 to make a tab, set scor-tape and stick them to the edges so they will open from the center to the sides (make sure you don’t stick the left ones on the spine).
This is the first page you’ll see on the right side of the album when opening, it is the exterior side of the left structure. To make this part you just need a small notebook that will be attached to the structure with magnets.
I’ve used a 3 1/2 x 4 3/4 notebook and covered it with a piece of paper from the same collection. I hid a strong magnet under a belt in the back side of the notebook and set another one in the background piece before gluing the scrapbook paper.
This is the interior side of the left structure. For building the pockets you’ll need 2 pieces of cardstock:
• 1 @ 6 5/8 x 3
• 1 @ 6 5/8 x 3 7/8
Take the smaller piece and score 3/8” in one large side and both short sides to create three tabs. Cut the tab corners in angle, set scor-tape and stick it to the lower end of the structure as a pocket. Take the larger piece and, with the 6 5/8” side up, score at 3/8 and 6 1/4 to create two tabs. Cut the tab upper corners in angle and cut in angle the piece from 2 5/8 to the end to make it fit in the pocket.
This is the interior side of the right structure. For building the flaps you’ll need two pieces of cardstock:
• 2 @ 3 1/2 x 5 7/8
With the large side up, score each piece at 5 1/2” to make a tab. Set scor-tape, place a magnet on each piece and glue your scrapbook paper. Stick one of piece to the upper end, at 3/8” from the right edge. Stick the other piece to the lower end, at 3/8” form the left fold. Set two magnets on the background matching the flaps and cover with your paper.
C1 – C2
These are the central photo waterfalls. For each waterfall you’ll need eleven pieces of cardstock:
• 9 @ 4 3/8 x 5 (for each waterfall)
• 1 @ 3 3/8 x 5 (for each waterfall)
• 1 @ 5/8 x 6 1/4 (for each waterfall)
middle. Now you can set the magnet making it match to the one on the strip. Then glue the last paper.
The album is pretty much done, you only need to set some scrapbook papers on the spines and covers and decorate it to your liking. So measure the spine, cause it is always a little larger than the cardboard piece you used and glue some paper both in the outside and the inside. Then do the same with the other small spines and the covers. In my case I fussy cut lots of feathers and elements from the paper collection and mixed them with paper flowers, natural feathers, wool and ribbon to decorate the cover. Furthermore I used a white gel pen to draw some lines and arrows here and there.
